But did Bartali really save Italy?

The 1948 Tour de France: nearly 5,000 kilometres, 120 riders from 12 national and regional teams. On Tuesday 13 July, in Cannes, the twelfth of 21 stages came to an end, and Gino Bartali, seventh in the general classification, was 21’28” behind the yellow jersey holder, Louison Bobet. Then came the comeback. And the masterpiece. Leading to triumph. And an unrivalled record: no one in the history of the Tour de France had ever managed – nor would ever manage – to win it again 10 years later. He was the only one, ‘Ginettaccio’: first in 1938 and first in 1948. Thanks to his inexhaustible climbing ability, his extreme willpower, and perhaps even thanks to a mysterious phone call. The phone call from Alcide De Gasperi.

Giancarlo Brocci (“Bartali, l’ultimo eroico”, Minerva) writes of this telephone call, which is said to have come on Wednesday 14 July, a French public holiday and a rest day on the Tour: “Linking Bartali to the serious crisis in Italy was the subject of the telephone call he received that evening at the Carlton Hotel in Cannes from Rome, from Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi. Gino knew him; they had met on several occasions through their involvement with Catholic Action. The tone of his friend Alcide’s call was one of support for the challenge the following day – the day of the most classic Alpine stage, from Cannes to Briançon – which would undoubtedly prove decisive for the outcome of the Tour. ‘Dear Gino, do you feel you can win the Tour again? What about tomorrow? It would be very important given the atmosphere that has developed in Italy.’

The assassination attempt on Palmiro Togliatti. In Rome, outside Montecitorio, at around 11.30 am on 14 July 1948. The secretary of the Italian Communist Party was with Nilde Iotti. Three shots (out of four) were fired from a pistol (a 1908-model .38 calibre) at his back (at close range). The perpetrator was Antonio Pallante, a law student, anti-communist and nationalist: he attempted to flee, but was then stopped and arrested by the Carabinieri, interrogated, tried and finally sentenced (to 13 years and 8 months, though he would be released after five years’ imprisonment). Immediately after the assassination, there were demonstrations, protests, street fighting and deaths. And perhaps De Gasperi’s phone call to Bartali.

Thursday 15 July saw the Cannes–Briançon stage, a 274 km route featuring three mountain passes: Allos, Vars and Izoard. Bartali made up ground: 6’18” on Brik Schotte, who finished second, and a staggering 18’07” on Bobet; in the overall standings, he was now hot on his heels, trailing by just 1’06”. Bartali, as is well known, maintained that “good deeds are done, but not spoken of” and that “certain medals are pinned to the soul, not to the jacket”. In his autobiography “Tutto sbagliato, tutto da rifare” (edited by Pino Ricci, Mondadori), he recounted – without mentioning the phone call – what happened in Cannes on the 14th and in Briançon on the 15th, beginning as follows: “That evening, many people wished to visit us, but we did not receive anyone, except for those two or three friends (with Raro Radice always at the forefront) who, the day before, when it seemed that the most complete debacle was looming, had come to encourage us and inquire after our well-being, showing that they still had faith, if not in our strength, then at least in our good will. On that very day, our happiness was overshadowed by the news coming in via radio or telephone from Italy: it was the day of the assassination attempt on Palmiro Togliatti. Rumours of unrest, denials and counter-denials worried us greatly. In that state of mind, full of conflicting emotions, we prepared for the following day, for the battle was far from over.”

Bartali won again. And in Italy, life slowly returned to normal. On Friday 16 July, the Briançon–Aix-les-Bains stage was held, covering 264 km, with an elevation profile resembling a runaway electrocardiogram: the Galibier, Croix de Fer, Portet, Cucheron and Granier, along with dirt tracks and bad weather – even for Gino ‘il Pio’, ‘a sort of obsession’. Bartali was relentless: 5’53” ahead of Stan Ockers, who finished second, and 7’09” ahead of Bobet, who came sixth at the finish and was knocked off the top spot in the general classification, trailing by 8’03”. Saturday 17 July was another rest day. On Sunday 18 July, the third major Alpine stage: the 256-km Aix-les-Bains–Lausanne route, featuring the Aravis and Forclaz climbs. Bartali was unstoppable: his third consecutive victory, this time with a 1’47” lead over Schotte, whilst Bobet’s ordeal continued; he was second in the general classification but now 13’47” behind. In short: history. Or rather: national history.

In “Sia lodato Bartali” (Castelvecchi), Stefano Pivato writes that “the Catholic press – though not exclusively – has created the myth of Gino Bartali saving Italy from the abyss of revolution. Of course, the newspapers argue, De Gasperi’s resolve and the swift action of Scelba’s riot police averted the worst. But the main credit goes to Gino Bartali, who, even more than his physical prowess as an athlete, benefited from the religious and moral qualities that for over a decade had made him the champion of the Catholic masses”. Thus, ten days later, the ‘Giornale dell’Emilia’ recounted the events as follows: “That evening, in the Chamber of Deputies – a chamber disoriented, agitated and outraged by the criminal attack in Piazza Montecitorio – the discordant clamour was quelled by the booming voice of a deputy who shouted: ‘Attention! Big news. Bartali has won the stage and perhaps the yellow jersey. Long live Italy’. And in the astonishment that followed this cry, many hearts were soothed.”

There is no evidence, no call records, no wiretaps, no witness accounts of that secret phone call. Pivato concludes: “These are exaggerations and political expediency.” However, since that 14 July 1948, Gino Bartali has become a legend, not only for winning his second Tour de France but, above all, for having ‘saved’ Italy from revolution. And for having restored to the entire nation a sense of patriotic pride that had been torn apart by the wounds of the Second World War.”